Werra

Your camera’s got a Carl Zeiss lens? Meet the only Carl Zeiss camera.
This post is more for the Camera aficionado’s that may be reading, but a few months ago whilst in Budapest, in a dusty little old camera store, I was lucky enough to stumble across a Werra.

The Werra

Named after a river near the factory it was produced, in a nutshell, the Werra’s history is that it was the only actual camera to ever be produced by Carl Zeiss Jena, which until then, and still to this day, remains a household name to camera enthusiasts, renowned for their supreme and elegant lens’s.

The uniqueness of the Werra wasn’t only limited to its manufacturer, but also to its film advanced mechanism which was engaged by twisting the ring around the lens!

To quote camerapedia; “The cameras offer a high degree of control with a minimum number of levers, knobs or rings. In their simplest incarnations, the Werras featured only a shutter release button on the top plate. With it’s streamlined styling, one could call the Werras a design camera. Nearly all other controls were incorporated into the lens barrel”…

This camera is just soo kool, I sat there looking at it for a couple of days before I even put a roll through.
The design was just way ahead of its time, for mid 1950’s, I cant think of another camera that is as streamlined or stylish as the Werra.
Even now, 60 years later on, it still holds its own.

Over its short production life, there were a number of variations including Werra’s with selenium light meters, range-finder versions, and interchangeable lenses – mine (pictured) however was the first, and absent of all these additions.

mini Review:
In general I found the Werra a bit fiddly to use.
As stated above (no light-meter / non range-finder version), focusing is limited to guessing against the inscriptions on the lens, and composition is constantly off due the whole common parallax/viewpoint displacement thing.
No light-meter means you will need to carry one separately, or embrace the Sunny 16 rule.

As the shutter speed and aperture controls are both located on the lens barrel too, along with the focus, all 3 tend to move when you try to change only one, which add’s to its fiddly-ness.

My film advance ring also felt a bit ‘stiff’ (acceptable after 60 years life), it worked well enough but I was a bit worried the next turn was going to snap the film.

haha. You’ll have to bring all these broken cams back to M-Town ’11.
I was soo close to getting a Polaroid Land 360 the other day in Athens, it was just too expensive though.
Yep, in Egypt, been down in Luxor, pushing 50 deg Celcius during the day, I slept on the roof every night :P
‘ryd photos coming soooon ;)

Funny, he, how often things not meant to be a certain way produce quite poetic results…like expired films… I found just let things happen sometimes to be a great way to make stuff…thanks for your post!

Wonderful Wonderful pictures. Taking pictures is like food to me. LOVE it!!! Traveling and keeping smiles in my pocket, the best of times. This location, Hungary, I had not idea it was that beautiful. Thanks for sharing your adventure!
~Great Post and pictures,
~Great Love to you,
Mirian from peelingtheorange.

There is something special about these cameras, their lenses and of course the photos they take… they seem to have more depth and character than digital…? The top photo really shows the potential of the lens… great feel to the photos and something 50s and 60s about them…?

I have an old Ricoh that I use sometimes that still runs on film. I mostly use my DSLR now. Also, the other day, I astoundingly found an extremely old camera (looks like this: http://s1.hubimg.com/u/1253152_f260.jpg in my basement! It’s amazing how far technology has come.

Great! I was always wanted to go to Budapest and this post further ignited my desire. I always read your posts whenever I get an email of your new post. IT IS BEcoming a footprint for me when I’ll leave for my journey! I wanted to ask you tis: how do you manage to travel so much! does it cost a lot? I’ve seen your post of Lahore! that is dirt cheap. Even a local won’t be able to stay for that cheap. So I am wondering you get or manage that kind of deals everywhere? Did you try finding old cameras in Lahore?

I own a Zeiss, circa l955, and just love it. Have not used it in some time, but it’s the camera I learned to shoot on, and I miss it! Digitals are fun, fast, and easy–but miss actually working with light, manipulating exposures, etc.

He he he…
I thought I’m the only guy left in the world with one of these Werras. Mine does not advance the film reliably anymore, a trait it unfortunately shares with my old Zenith.
Your post makes me want to load up some of my expired stock film rolls (which I still keep in my fridge to my wife’s dismay and disbelief) in my old FE2 Nikon and head out there.
Loved your post.

This kind of camera reminds me when my dad was taking family pictures whenever everywhere. I have had always Japanese cameras myself but what I have realized always is that more lens matters than camera itself. Certain Japanese camera manufacturers use Carl Zeiss lens as well. I recall photos taken with Japanese lens is fine but somehow there is some humanly kind of aura comes more from photos taken by Carl Zeiss or Leica lenses.

Must say you’ve taken some awesome photos :) Just looking through blog and can’t wait to start my travelling again! What a great experience travelling through Pakistan, loved the hiking photos in the snow & was very interesting to see Chernobyl.
You may not have heard but I’m going on the Trans Mongolian/Siberian Railway in July then onto Estonia, Latvia and across to Sweden for a couple of years. So might run into you over in Europe if your still backpacking around.
Keep up the good work & stories.

Thanks for the info and the great pics Matt. I inherited a black Werra 1, with the leather casing, from my german/russian grandfather. I can’t believe how kool it looks for its time and its intriguing history! With the info and links you’ve given I’ve finally worked out how to load the film in! Can’t wait to give it a try…thanks for your help and hope my pics turn out as beautifully as yours. :) Nicole

It was in Ecseri market, quite outside the city but a huge one.
I have some issues with the Werra though, I do not know if you are still using it. Perhaps you can take a look at this thread I opened on Flickr:

hello! i just stumbled upon your blog, because my in-laws just gave me one of these cameras they had in their old home for years. i can’t figure out the way to load a roll in it! i know that the silver bottom must come out to load it, but how to i make it come out? do you have any info to help me? i can’t wait to try a roll on it, as well!